This is a collection of news about border issues, particularly those seen from Arizona and regarding the right to keep and bear arms. Sources often include Mexican media. It's often interesting to see how different the view is from the south.
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Other members of the group, called Mayors Against Illegal Guns, include New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Ahumada is one of just two Texas mayors who are members.

He said the violence in Mexico clearly is a public safety matter for citizens on both sides of the border."I believe in the Second Amendment. I am a licensed concealed-weapon carrier. But we must stop the flow of illegal guns into Mexico," he said. "I feel like we're not doing enough. We need to do more."

This month, Mexican authorities unearthed mass graves that held more than 150 dead bodies in San Fernando, a city about 80 miles south of Brownsville.

"We have a Bosnia just south of the border, and we should feel some kind of responsibility because we create the demand for the drugs and we supply the criminal element with the ammunition for firepower," Ahumada said of the ongoing drug cartel war. "Mexico doesn't allow gun sales, so they're coming from all over the world, but a lot of it comes through here."

Texas has the dubious distinction of providing more guns used in Mexican crimes – 40 percent in 2009 – than any other state, according to a Mayors Against Illegal Guns report based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

The same report found that since 2006, 90 percent of the guns used in Mexican crimes that were submitted to the ATF for tracing originated from gun dealers in the United States.

Ahumada said he supports efforts that fight gun trafficking, such as mandatory reporting laws for stolen or resold guns, and efforts that make it more difficult for criminals to illegally possess firearms.

Ahumada, who is running for re-election against four others in May, joined Mayors Against Illegal Guns Jan. 24, according to director Mark Glaze. The coalition includes more than 590 mayors across the country, ranging from large metropolitan cities to small towns, he said.

One of the coalition's main targets is firearms legislation, prompting the group's critics to call it a "gun control advocacy" group.

Glaze disputes that characterization."The coalition is a group of Republicans, Democrats and Independents who focus on a narrow range of issues that are not about gun control," he said. "They are about crime control."

In 2009, then-Houston Mayor Bill White announced through his election campaign that he had resigned from Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Citied as a reason was the group's fight against a proposal that would allow licensed concealed-weapon carriers to carry their firearms into other states.

Ahumada dismissed those criticisms."I never worry about those things," he said. "If you look at my actions, my leadership, I always try to do what's right. Maybe I'm the lone wolf there, but I think people usually end up joining, or seeing it my way, as far as it's the right thing to do."

As mayor of Brownsville, he said, he feels it is his moral duty and his job to support efforts that help protect citizens."It takes courage to stand up and say, 'OK, maybe for Odessa, it's not an issue, but for us here, it is an issue,'" he said.

The mayor said the facts about the flow of illegal gun trafficking from the United States to Mexico are proven."We know that's happening and you can't ignore that," he said. "Those who criticize want to ignore that. Well, that suits them and that's fine. I cannot ignore that. That's the reality."